Chapter 17
Warren woke up to a crowd. There were several women and their kids staring at him in astonishment. One little girl in particular was grimacing. Warren figured she was the one that had sat on him.
“Nothing to see here,” Warren said. “I just laid down for a second to rest. I had a terrible night.”
The girl snorted. “You were invisible and you felt like you were melting away. That’s just weird and gross.”
“Maybe we should call the police,” one of the women said.
Warren jumped to his feet. “Nope. No need to do that.” He pushed through the crowd and ran out into the parking lot.
Well, the invisible ray was a bust. That sucked.
What now?
A car honked at Warren. It was Jonathan and Andrew out on bail, driving the car of Andrew’s mother. Warren hurried to get in the passenger side door.
“What the hell, Warren?” Jonathan demanded. “You left us frozen. We got arrested, you fucker.”
“Did you tell them about me?”
Andrew shook his head. “No, we’re not snitches.”
“Good. Good. I have our next project ready to go online.” Warren sat back, and he chortled to himself. These two were such gullible idiots.
“What is it?” Andrew asked.
“The cerebral dampener. It’ll make any woman our sex slave.”
“Awesome.” Jonathan did a fist pump.
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Buffy was in the middle of changing Connor’s diaper when there was a knock on the door. She looked back and forth between the door and the baby before she called out. “Can someone get that?”
“I’ll get it.” Dawn bounced down the stairs. “It’s probably Xander here to take me to school.”
Buffy was confused. Xander wouldn’t have knocked; he would have walked right in to the house. She finished Connor’s diaper change in a hurry.
“Who are you?” Dawn asked whoever was at the door.
“My name is Doris Kroger. I’m from social services, here about a Miss Dawn Summers and her trip to the ER,” the woman said. “May I come in?”
“Buffy, it’s for you.” Dawn turned to Buffy with a contrite look on her face.
Buffy sighed. She handed Connor to Dawn, who cradled the baby awkwardly because of the arm brace, before she turned to the woman at the door. “I thought our appointment was on Wednesday.”
“This is Wednesday,” Kroger replied.
“Wow, sorry. It’s been a heck of a week.” Buffy stepped back to let the woman past her.
“I’m going to give Connor to … Dad.” Dawn gave Buffy a wide eyed look before she hustled off towards the kitchen.
“Better hurry,” Buffy replied, unsure who exactly Dawn was calling Dad, but willing to roll with the punches. “There’s Xander.”
Kroger turned to see that indeed a car had pulled up in front of the Summers’ home. She wasn’t happy to see a young man in his twenties step out of the car.
Dawn rushed back into the foyer without a baby in her arms. She grabbed her backpack. “Don’t forget your interview at the gym at eleven, Buffy.” She hurried out the door and down the sidewalk.
“I won’t.” Buffy watched Dawn get into Xander’s car. She waved at the two as they drove off. Then, she turned back to Kroger. “Xander’s a really safe driver. He’s never gotten a ticket or into an accident.”
Tara came down the stairs. “I’m off to the campus to meet up with Willow. I’ll be back before your interview to watch the twins.” She slipped by Kroger and went out the front door.
Lawson came out of the kitchen, cradling Connor on his shoulder. “Why did Dawn call me Dad?”
Buffy gave a wide, fake smile. “Dad, this is Doris Kroger from Social Services. She’s here about Dawn’s accident.”
Spike strolled out behind Lawson carrying Freya. “She was mugged on the way back from Ralph’s.”
“The report said it was after dark.” Kroger checked her paperwork.
“She wasn’t alone,” Buffy replied. “Tara was with her. Spike and Dad showed up soon after and ran the guy off.”
“How many live here?” Kroger narrowed her eyes when she heard Freya whimper.
“Why don’t we go sit down?” Buffy asked. She herded Kroger into the living room. After the woman sat down, Buffy sat down too. “Now, to answer your question, Tara, Dawn, and I live here along with the babies. Their mother dropped them off and blew out of town. We haven’t even had time to talk to a lawyer yet about adopting them.”
“What about their father?” Kroger asked. “Couldn’t they be left with him?”
Buffy glanced at Spike for a moment, contemplating what to say. “Well, their father has been dead a long time.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Kroger eyed Spike. She didn’t like his appearance one little bit. “And who is this?”
Before Buffy could answer, Spike replied, “Name’s William Jamison, I’m Buffy’s boyfriend.”
“Do you live here?”
Spike shook his head. “No, ma’am. I work the night shift. I was able to get here before the sun rose.”
Kroger turned her attention back to Buffy. “Your sister said you have an interview today at a gym. For what position exactly?”
“Probably for self defense instructor,” Buffy answered with a shrug. “Tara is attending UC for a few more semesters. Spike and Dad are going into the treasure hunting business.”
Spike nodded. “We have a lead on a treasure called the Amara.”
“Treasure hunting doesn’t seem like a very steady line of work,” Kroger commented.
“There are a lot of treasures out there,” Lawson commented. “Just not all of them are going to be gold and jewelry. Museums pay big money for relics.”
Kroger wrote a few things on her paperwork. “Well, we must talk about your sister’s frequent absences and lateness, also. Mr. Summers, are you…”
“No, no, I’m not Hank Summers. My name is Sam Lawson. Hank is who Joyce married after our relationship ended.”
“So, you’re not Dawn’s father?” Kroger stared at Lawson. “Where is Mr. Summers?
“No clue,” Buffy replied. “We left him messages when Mom died, but he never called us back. We haven’t seen him in two years. He stopped sending child support when I turned eighteen.”
“Even for your sister?”
“Yup, even for Dawn,” Buffy replied with a nod.
Kroger wrote that down on her papers. “Well, I think I have all the information I need for now. I need to discuss things with my supervisor.” She glanced over at the babies. “I recommend that you consider getting married before you adopt the babies.”
“Married?” Buffy squeaked.
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Tara sat at a table in the student union. In front of her was a cup of coffee that had started off steaming hot, but was now lukewarm. Tara was waiting for Willow to show up for a talk, and she wasn’t happy. Willow was twenty minutes late.
Willow plopped down in the chair across from Tara. “Sorry I’m late. Amy was being uncooperative and keeps trying to escape her cage,” she said in a tired, rushed voice.
Tara narrowed her eyes at Willow. “How did she become a rat again? I can’t see her doing the same spell twice.”
“It was an accident. Honest.” Willow winced when Tara’s eyes narrowed further. “She was threatening me. It’s the last magic I did, I promise. I’m trying to do better, I really am.”
“Have you removed all temptation?”
Willow looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“Have you returned all the magic books and ingredients to the Magic Box?” Tara asked. “Anya’s not stupid you know. She knows where the inventory disappears too.”
Willow spluttered. “Spike steals the burba weed.”
“Anya is aware.” Tara rose to her feet. “Return the items in full and we’ll talk again. I need to get home. Buffy needs to go out and I need to watch the twins.” She turned around and walked away.
“Twins? What twins?” Willow asked in a confused voice, but Tara was out of earshot.
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Jim James looked across his desk at the nervous young woman interviewing for the self-defense instructor position. “So, Miss Summers, tell me about yourself.”
Buffy clasped her hands in her lap. “I moved to Sunnydale when I was fifteen. I graduated from Sunnydale High School in 1999. Yes, that was the year it blew up. I’ve taken some classes at UC Sunnydale, but stopped when my mom died this last spring. I’ve been taking self-defense lessons since I was sixteen. Nothing official, mind you, just learning different techniques.”
“Then, I suppose a demonstration is needed.”
Buffy looked down at her interview clothes and shrugged. “Well, these clothes aren’t ideal, but they aren’t the worst thing I’ve had to fight in.”
Jim chuckled. “Don’t worry. We have some gym clothes you can borrow.”